Controversies of
Colossians 2
Colossians 2:14, 2:16, Colossian controversy, Paul, Epistle,
handwriting, nail, cross, dogma, New Moon, Sabbath, Holy Days, Gnostic, Gnosticism
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There are some scriptures in Colossians 2 that have been greatly misunderstood. For some people a short answer might be appropriate, but in some cases the great bulk of the chapter is misunderstood. A short answer is probably not sufficient for someone that sees the whole chapter from a skewed perspective.
The primary skewed
perspective that people have been taught regarding Colossians 2 is that
"Judaizers"
were trying to pull the Colossian congregation back to Judaism and keeping
the law. In fact, this is not what Colossians indicates.
Understanding the history and make-up of this group of
believers helps us to understand the problems they were facing. It is
actually highly unlikely that there was any Jew among them.
Paul warned them to "Beware
lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the
tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ"
(Col 2:8). The law is not associated with philosophy, vain deceit,
traditions of men or rudiments of the world. Jesus condemned the Jews
for voiding the law by their traditions (Mark 7:8). The law is not a
fundamental aspect or rudiment of the world, but of God in opposition to
the way of this world. The world in general has never upheld the
instruction of the Creator as recorded by Moses.
The first of the
scriptures that confuse most people is Colossians 2:14.
"having wiped out the handwriting of
requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has
taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
In preparation to
understand what Paul is saying we need to look at some words that he used.
The original Greek word behind 'handwriting' is 'cheirographon '. Thayer's Greek
Lexicon lists two basic meanings.
1) a
handwriting, what one has written by his own hand
2) a note
of hand or writing in which one acknowledges that money has either been
deposited with him or lent to him by another, to be returned at the
appointed time
The Greek word behind
'requirements' is 'dogma '. Thayer's Greek Lexicon lists three
basic meanings.
1)
doctrine, decree, ordinance
2) the
rules and requirements of the law of Moses; carrying a suggestion of
severity and of threatened judgment
3) of
certain decrees of the apostles relative to right living
We should note that the
subject of this sentence is this 'handwriting'. It is something
written by hand, 'what one has written by his own hand'. In the Greek
text this word is singular. This is in agreement with 'was
against us'. 'Was' is also singular. ('Requirements' is plural,
so is not connected with the verbs or pronouns of the sentence and is
therefore not the subject.) So this handwriting is what was against
us. That is, 'what was written by our own hand' was against us.
What have we done that could be held against ourselves?
The previous verse gives
us a solid clue. "He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all
trespasses". Verse 14 is a continuation of the thought
stated in the second half of verse 13. Paul is explaining how we are
forgiven. Jesus Christ blotted out what we did with His
crucifixion. As is so common with native Hebrew speakers, they repeat
themselves especially when they emphasize. It's known as Hebrew parallelism. That is what Paul is doing with verse 14. He is
restating that our sins are erased.
The secondary definition
of 'handwriting' gives us another clue. "a note of hand or
writing in which one acknowledges that money has either been deposited with
him or lent to him by another, to be returned at the appointed
time". In short, an IOU. Paul is metaphorically treating
the sin that we have done as a debt that can be blotted out or crossed off,
i.e., forgiven.
There is no mention of the
law here. The primary definition of 'dogma', which is often assumed
to refer to the law typically
refers to rulings of civil governments or decrees by rulers. The
secondary definition given by Thayer could indicate the law is involved
here, but a careful
examination of this definition and other scriptural use of this
word leave that in serious doubt.
"Dogma' is actually
in the plural form in the Greek text. It is not the object of the
verbs or pronouns of this sentence, which are singular. So even if
the laws are intended, they are not what 'was against' or contrary
to the Colossians. Neither were
the laws nailed to the cross, but the sin, the debt we incurred on our
own. That was in effect nailed to the cross in that Jesus death
atoned for that sin/debt. He took our guilt upon Himself and paid the
required penalty. That is how we are forgiven.
Colossians 2:16-17
"So let no one
judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17
which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."
Someone in Colossi was
chiding someone else about the annual festivals, the new moon and the
weekly Sabbath observance. If we notice just a few things about the
translation of this verse, we get an entirely different perspective.
The Greek word behind
'regarding' is 'meros'.
It actually means 'a part', not 'regarding'. How did the translators
come up with 'regarding'?
One way to communicate 'a
part' is with the idiom, 'in this respect'. It is evidently possible
for 'meros' to be used
in a way consistent with this idiom. The King James Version
translators evidently tried to make this connection. The KJV uses 'in
respect of' in this verse. Other versions often key off the KJV.
'Regarding' (NKJV) is similar in meaning to 'in respect of'.
Unfortunately, this KJV translation is a blatant abuse of
translation. One cannot take the words of an idiom, toss one out and
expect the remaining phrase to carry the same meaning as the original
idiom. Yet this is apparently what was done and other translators
have been quick to fall in line.
The phrase 'in respect of'
in Colossians 2:16 carries the meaning of 'in honoring' or 'keeping', not
'a part'. It is a rendering of the text that borders on blatant
dishonesty. 'In this respect' and 'in respect of' carry two entirely
different meanings. 'In respect of' carries no connection with 'a
part' at all.
There are other improvements
that can be made in translating these verses as well. The words
behind 'food' and 'drink' are more often used to refer to 'eating' and
'drinking'. Also, in verse 17, there is no 'is' in the original
text. The same people that mistranslated 'meros' evidently liked the text better with the
'is' too. It really clouds what Paul was saying.
With those thoughts in
mind, a better translation of Colossians 2:16-17 would be: 'Let no man
therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in any part of an holy
day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: which are a shadow of
things to come; but the body of Christ.'
The body of Christ, the
church (Col 1:24, I Cor
12:27) judges HOW one is to celebrate the Sabbaths and new moons. The
problem addressed here is not whether or not to celebrate these occasions,
but how to celebrate them. The concern is with various aspects or
parts of these festivals. The exact problem seems to be that the
Colossians were being
criticized for their 'eating and drinking'.
It makes no sense to
criticize their behavior in an aspect of the festivals if they were not
keeping the festivals. Contrary to the general assumption that the
troublemakers in Colossi were Jews, it is much more likely they were
Gnostics. Many Gnostics were ascetic. The celebration of the
annual festivals is not typically a chintzy affair. It should be no
surprise that ascetics would not approve of a typical Jewish Festival
celebration. Although the Colossians were not Jews by nationality, they undoubtedly
looked to the Jews for examples of how to celebrate these festivals. (I Thes 2:13-14)
Colossian Heresy
If you haven't been
through the brief examination of the background of the Colossian church, now would
be a good time to do that. By understanding a bit about those to whom
Paul wrote, we can better understand what he is telling them.
"O Timothy! Guard
what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings
and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge" (I Timothy
6:20). 'Knowledge' here is the Greek word 'gnosis', which is the
source of the name Gnostic. There is significant evidence that
Gnostics were attracted to Christianity, but many evidently kept much of
their original belief system. Paul is directly naming this group to
Timothy with instructions to avoid them. It stands to reason there
was a reason he felt he needed to do this. They were a problem and
were pushing their philosophy on Christians.
A footnote from the
Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) 11th edition, topic GNOSTICISM says this:
"These ideas may possibly be traced still further back, and perhaps
even underlie St Paul's exposition in Col ii 15." The
philosophy actually predated Christianity by a long time. This
article makes it clear that Gnosticism and Christianity interacted with one
another a lot in the early centuries CE/AD.
Much of the first chapter
of Colossians is spent establishing the credentials of Jesus Christ.
Paul concludes that He is preeminent above all and He is the choice
of the Father to reconcile everyone to the Father (Vs. 18-20).
Although the Gnostic religion/ philosophy didn't originally include Jesus
Christ, there were some similarities. Consequently, Gnosticism did
not reject Christ, but redefined him to their own liking. So in Colossians, Paul
didn't need to defend Jesus existence, but demonstrate that He was unique
and not just one of several special beings.
Paul's use of 'fullness'
(vs. 1:19) is interesting. Certainly Paul intends to put everything
in Christ's domain. However, the Greek word behind 'fullness' is 'pleroma'. This
word had a special meaning to this philosophy called Gnosticism. The
Jewish New Testament Commentary tells us "'Pleroma' was a technical term used by the
Gnostics and their antecedents to refer to the totality of the various
spiritual 'levels' and the beings or entities presumed to exist there . .
." (p. 605, JNTC, by David H. Stern). Instead of
advancing slowly up the ladder to the next spiritual level, Christ, the
image of the Father, comes to live life in the conduct of the believer (Col
1:27).
As it turns out Paul 'just
happened' to use a number of words that held special meaning to the
Gnostics. This is another indicator that he was countering their
influence. He redefines their words. Another favorite word was
'musterion', mystery.
It referred to a religious secret that was confided only to the
initiated, a secret rite. Paul used the word four times in Colossians
and clarified what the real mystery was.
We begin to get
descriptive clues to the identification of those trying to influence the
Colossians away from the faith in Colossians 2:4. "Now this I
say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words." We learn more in verse 8. "Beware
lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the
tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not
according to Christ."
These people deal in a
worldly philosophy that is in accord with traditions of men. This
heresy's attractiveness rests in persuasive words, not reliance on the
authority of the Hebrew scriptures. It is simple empty deceit.
As with most of Satan's counterfeits, though, it probably sounds good and
probably contains some good, but a lie is a lie even if much is true.
Judaizers are not called philosophers in scripture. (The only
other philosophers Paul ran into were in Athens, Acts 17:18.) He
never called Judaizers
philosophers elsewhere. Encouraging the keeping of the law could
hardly be called empty deceit, just a few years before everyone
acknowledges it was in full force. Acts 21:24 would certainly make
Paul guilty of empty deceit in this case. Paul purified himself and
some others at the temple once he returned from one of his journeys.
Certainly the Jews had their traditions of men, but the law was hardly a
tradition of men. Moses certainly didn't think so.
'Elements of the world' is
mentioned in Galatians 4:3. It seems similar to 'principles of the
world' mentioned in verse 8 above. In the context of Galatians 3
& 4, it applies to Gentiles before they came to know the Creator as
well as to Jews. They were both under guardians and the elements,
expectations or traditions of their world as children. So principle
or elements of the world covered both Jew and gentile. The Law of
Moses was not universally recognized, so would not be intended by the
phrase 'principles of the world'. The problem in Colossi was from
another direction, not from adherents of the law.
Nowhere in Colossians is
there an accusation against Judaizers
or against anyone keeping any law of the old covenant. Circumcision
is mentioned (vs. 2:11). That doesn't mean that there were Judaizers involved.
Circumcision of the heart is an absolutely vital aspect of being a true
Christian. It seems quite appropriate that circumcision be
mentioned. The Gnostic rites were empty in comparison to the peace
and sound mindedness that comes with the spirit of God and circumcision of
the heart.
Let me draw a number of
quotes from the Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) 11th edition, topic GNOSTICISM
(available at http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Gnosticism). This
article sheds significant light on the topics Paul addresses in Colossians
2.
"Thus
the essential part of most of the conceptions of what we call Gnosticism
was already in existence and fully developed before the rise of
Christianity. But the fundamental ideas of Gnosticism and of early
Christianity had a kind of magnetic attraction for each other. What drew
these two forces together was the energy exerted by the universal idea of
salvation in both systems. Christian Gnosticism actually introduced only
one new figure into the already existing Gnostic theories, namely that of
the historical Savior Jesus Christ.
"Indirectly,
however, Gnosticism was certainly one of the most powerful factors in the
development of Christianity in the 1st century.
"Gnosticism
has combined the two, the Greek opposition between spirit and matter, and
the sharp Zoroastrian dualism...
"The
basis of the Gnostic religion and world-philosophy lies in a decided
Oriental dualism.
"Another
characteristic figure of Gnosticism is that of the Primal Man... we meet
with the man who existed before the world, the prophet who goes through the
world in various forms, and finally reveals himself in Christ.
"And
since the Gnostics were compelled to draw the figure of the Savior into a
world of quite alien myths, their Christology became so complicated in
character ………"
In summarizing one set of
Gnostic writings the Britannica states: "In these confused records
of human imagination gone mad, we possess a veritable herbarium of all
possible Gnostic ideas, which were once active and now rest peacefully side
by side.
"This
knowledge of theirs was not based on reflection, on scientific inquiry and
proof, but on revelation."
Would it be a stretch for
Paul to describe that approach as "philosophy", "empty
deceit", "tradition of men" or holding basic
"principles of the world" as in vs. 8? It seems like a
rather good fit. We hit on all four of Paul's connections.
Further description of the
Gnostics includes: "Another characteristic feature of the Gnostic
conception of the universe is the role played in almost all Gnostic systems
by the seven world-creating powers."
This might explain why
Paul reiterates in vs. 9 &10 that Christ is complete and is the head of
all principalities and powers. The Colossians didn't need seven
deities.
Going on Britannica says:
"Above all we can see ….how great a part the sacraments played in
the Gnostic sects. Everywhere we are met with the most varied forms of holy
rites- the various baptisms, by water, by fire, by the spirit the baptism
for protection against demons, anointing with oil, sealing and
stigmatizing, piercing the ears, leading into the bridal chamber, partaking
of holy food and drink. Finally sacred formulas, names and symbols are of
the highest importance among the Gnostics sects. We constantly meet with
the idea that the soul, on leaving the body, finds its path to the highest
heaven opposed by the deities and demons of the lower realms of heaven, and
only when it is in possession of the names of these demons, and can repeat
the proper holy formula, or is prepared with the right symbol, or has been
anointed with the holy oil, finds its way unhindered to the heavenly home."
However, Paul points out
v11-14 that the sacraments God requires are circumcision without a knife by
putting off sin. This is one with baptism and faith toward God who
raised Christ from the dead and offers the Colossians life as well through
Christ by forgiving their transgressions (not by eliminating the law).
It is not the decrees,
which was hostile to us, but the handwriting, the debt was
hostile to us. The singular verbs and pronouns need to be connected
to the singular noun in verse 14. What is being blotted out is the debt
against us that we wrote ourselves. The metaphor is that we created
or wrote the debt by our actions not by actually writing on a piece of
paper. To say that personal debt is some kind of metaphor for the Old
Covenant or Mosaic Law is to be desperate to avoid the historical meaning
and context of the words.
What we have is Paul
explaining that attaining salvation is not a matter of "an immense system
of names and symbols."(EB), but the miraculous blotting out of our
past offenses once we repent, i.e., accept Yeshua the Christ and change
direction.
And whereas with the
Gnostics, "We constantly meet with the idea that the soul, on
leaving the body, finds its path to the highest heaven opposed by the
deities and demons of the lower realms of heaven, and only when it is in
possession of the names of these demons, and can repeat the proper holy
formula, or is prepared with the right symbol, or has been anointed with
the holy oil, finds its way unhindered to the heavenly home."
Paul makes it clear that Christ has disarmed these principalities and
powers and showed them to be fakes (vs. 2:15).
One thing the Gnostics did
advocate, indirectly hinted at here, was heavy reliance on penitence to
make up for misdeeds. They also practiced rituals that allowed them
to get up to the next rung on the ladder to Heaven. No wonder Paul
emphasized so the forgiveness available through the sacrifice of Christ and
circumcision of the heart done without hands. He has indeed shown all
the worlds systems to be fakes and frauds (v15). False humility and
neglect of the body doesn't cut it. Asceticism is not the way to
salvation.
Why would the Sabbath and
Holy days come up in this context? Perhaps some clue can be derived from
the Britannica:
"The Old Testament
was absolutely rejected by most of the Gnostics...
"...almost
all of the Gnostic sects take up a definitely hostile attitude towards the
Jewish religion.
"Above
all the Gnostics represented and developed the distinctly anti-Jewish
tendency in Christianity..."
Perhaps the Gnostics knew
what Paul wrote in I Corinthians 5:8, "Therefore let us keep the
feast [of Unleavened Bread (Passover)]…" or knew that Christians
looked to scripture, i.e. the Hebrew scriptures, which is all that existed
at the time. These indicate that certainly the Sabbath, Holy Days and
New Moons were to be respected. The Gnostics on the other hand "absolutely
rejected" this revelation and would undoubtedly have an opinion to
express to anyone who deemed these items worthy of respect. Certainly
there would be no reason for this matter to have surfaced but that the
Colossians were respecting the Sabbath, Holy Days and New Moons. The
Gnostics certainly were not respecting them and evidently had a strong and
vocal aversion to them.
Let's look at a little
more of what the Britannica has to say:
Gnostics
"...saw instead two hostile worlds standing in contrast to each
other like light and darkness. And out of the combination of these two
dualisms arose the teaching of Gnosticism, with its thoroughgoing pessimism
and fundamental asceticism. .. widespread
was the idea of seven powers who created this lower material world and rule
over it... These Seven, then, are in most systems half-evil, half hostile
powers; they are frequently characterized as "angels," and are
reckoned as the last and lowest emanations of the Godhead;...
"In
all these accounts the idea is expressed that so far as his body is
concerned man is the work of the angels who created the world.
"...in
a few of its later representations Gnosticism
assumed a more refined and spiritual aspect, and even produced blossoms of
a true and beautiful piety,..
"But
names symbols and formulas are not efficacious by themselves: the Gnostic
must lead a life having no part in the lower world ruled by these spirits,
and by his knowledge he must raise himself above them to the God of the
world of light.
"These
little Gnostic sects and groups all lived in the conviction that they
possessed a secret and mysterious knowledge, in no way accessible to those
outside, which was not to be proved or propagated, but believed in by the
initiated, and anxiously guarded as a secret. This knowledge of theirs was
not based on reflection, on scientific inquiry and proof, but on
revelation.
"All
alike boast a mystic revelation and deeply-veiled wisdom."
Is it any wonder then that
Paul warned the Colossians not to look to those proponents of false humility,
worship of angels, intruding into those things not seen and being puffed up
in their fleshly mind, who don't look to God: v18-19, but to their various
sacraments and regulations.
'Intruding' is Greek
"embateuon".
Kittel's Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament tells us that embateuon ". . . is used inversely to
signify the action of those who have just received the mysteries (vol. II,
p. 535)" It's
another special Gnostic word.
Going on...
"And
finally, as in many mystical religions, so here too, holy rites and
formulas, acts of initiation and consecration, all those things which we
call sacraments, play a very prominent part."
"...an
attitude of absolute indifference towards this lower and material world and
the practice of asceticism.
"...and
carnal pleasure is frequently looked upon as forbidden. Then again asceticism sometimes
changes into wild libertinism."
Again is it a surprise
Paul wondered why the Colossians might "subject yourselves to
regulations "(NKJV), "commandments and doctrines of men"
including other things that might have "an appearance of wisdom .. self-imposed religion, false humility, and
neglect of the body"? (NKJV) Isn't that what asceticism is?
Further on in chapter 3
Paul mentions other conduct to be avoided. One can assume these
things were a problem too. The first two things mentioned were
fornication and uncleanness. Passion would tend to be mixed up with
these items too. According to Thayer's Greek lexicon the word for
uncleanness carries with it "in a moral sense, the impurity of
lustful, luxurious or profligate living". This is interesting
too since the EB says: "Particularly instructive in this connexion is the fact that in
those very sects... unbridled prostitution appears
as a distinct and essential part of the cult." These traits
are not attributed to Judaizers.
The book of Colossians
counters gentile Gnostics much better than it does any Jewish
heresies. There are some that think it is countering Jewish
Gnostics. Without a single word addressed to a Jew, acknowledging the
presence of a Jew or faulting a circumcised individual, it is hard to see
that as the intention of the text.
Gnostics believed in their
own brand of asceticism, regulations, magic formulas and spirits to elevate
them out of the evil physical world up to the plane of spiritual
perfection. Paul doesn't see their conduct as likely to accomplish
what they claim it does (vs. 2:23).
Paul's witness shows that
the Father set Jesus Christ "to reconcile all things to Himself, by
Him" (vs. 1:20). The believer is perfected "by putting off
the body of the sins of the flesh" (vs. 2:11) i.e. repentance,
then being "buried with Him in baptism" (vs. 2:12) and
Christ "having forgiven you all trespasses" (vs. 2:13).
"Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of
the world, (baptism) why, as though living in the world, do you
subject yourselves to regulations" (vs. 2:20). Paul wonders
what benefit the Colossians would receive ".. since you have put off the old man with his
deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according
to the image of Him who created him" (vs. 3:9-10). They
should already be "every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (vs.
1:28) "according to the image of Him who created him"
The believer should have
already attained the perfection that the Gnostics sought. At
repentance and baptism they should have already "put… off the body
of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ" (vs.
2:11). "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and
the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your
heart and with all your soul, that you may live" (Deu 30:6). "This
is the
covenant that I will make with them …I will put My laws into their
hearts, and in their minds I will write them" (Heb 10:16). The stoney heart should have been
gone, replaced with the sinless mind of Jesus Christ (Eze 36:26-27).